


Golden Afternoon

by TheGrimmScribe (orphan_account)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alice in Wonderland References, Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Once Upon a Time Fusion, Backstory, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Disney References, Family Drama, Literary References & Allusions, Multi, Once Upon a Time (TV) References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23476303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/TheGrimmScribe
Summary: Alice returns from her first adventure in Wonderland. She informs her parents about her whereabouts. Her uptight father refuses to believe her.
Relationships: George Darling/Mary Darling (Peter Pan)
Kudos: 6





	Golden Afternoon

**_The Land Without Magic_ **

**_London, England_ **

**_July, 1951_ **

Alice emerged from the rabbit hole. Her blue-and-white dirndl was slightly dirty as a result of her curiously disturbing adventures underground. A crown of red roses and daises adorned her golden ringlets. The seven-year-old adventurer examined her surroundings. Everything was familiar again. She stood in the backyard of her father’s manor. The manor was a summer retreat for the Darling household. It was home. Filled with joy, Alice ran to the entrance of her house. She walked up to the door and anxiously knocked. The door was opened by her father, George Darling, and his wife, Mary Darling. Their daughter smiled at her parents. 

“Hello, Mom and Dad.”

“Alice? Is it really you?” George asked.

“It’s me,” Alice replied. 

Alice’s parents led their daughter inside and sat down with her in the parlor. Wendy’s younger sister smiled at the sight of a table laden with cherry tarts, miniature cakes, and candied apricots. Since the Darling household was a modern Edwardian family, they acted and dressed the part, adhering to the lifestyle of their ancestors. 

“May I please have a snack?” Alice asked.

“Not until you tell us where you've gone,” George replied.

“Where have you been?” Mary demanded. “You’ve gone missing for three days."

"Missing?" Alice repeated.

"Your mother was worried sick about your absence. We thought that you had been abducted.”

“Abducted?” Alice asked.

“Kidnapped. Stolen. Spirited away.”

“I wasn’t kidnapped,” Alice laughed.

“Then where were you?” 

Alice decided to spit out the truth to her parents. She would rather sound crazy than resort to falsehoods in order to save herself. 

“I went to a wondrous place. An underground kingdom known as Wonderland.” 

“Wonderland?” George replied.

Wendy’s sister nodded. 

“Sweetie, there’s no such thing as Wonderland,” George chortled.

“But I’ve been there. For real. Honestly, I fell down a rabbit hole, changed sizes, and met all of the characters I’ve dreamed about.” 

“Wonderland does not exist. It’s a fictional place from a children’s storybook. You’re obviously lying.” 

“But what if she isn’t?” Mary argued. 

“She’s hiding something. I know it.”

Feeling as if she might drown in a pool of her own tears, Alice sniffled and ran upstairs to her bedroom. Her father called out for her to come back down. She refused to listen. Her parents decided to throw their own tea party instead of forcing their daughter to inform them of her mysterious whereabouts. George sat down beside his wife, drinking peppermint tea to calm himself down. Mary helped herself to some tarts. 

“Our daughter is curious, but curiosity often leads to trouble,” Mary remarked. 

“Do you honestly believe that Wonderland exists?” George asked his wife.

“As a woman who believes in magical creatures and supernatural phenomena, I acknowledge the existence of such a realm,” Mary replied. 

"You honestly believe that our daughter followed the White Rabbit down his rabbit hole, consumed food and beverages capable of causing her to change sizes, nearly drowned in a pool of her own tears, encountered the hookah-smoking Caterpillar, babysat the piglet of the Duchess, conversed with the Cheshire Cat, attended the tea party of the Hatter and March Hare, and stood up to the Queen of Hearts?" 

"It's possible."

“But this is the real world.”

“A real world.”

“I beg your pardon?” George coughed, spitting out his tea. 

“There are other worlds besides this one. Haven’t you read about Neverland, the Land of Oz, or Atlantis?”

“Of course not. You have quite the imaginative mind, my dear Mary. I was raised to be practical, not pretentious.” 

“It appears somebody was raised in the wrong fashion,” Mary remarked.

George laughed in response to his wife’s remark. 

“Do you honestly think I’m being funny?” Mary asked. 

“Aren’t you?” George replied. 

“Not at all, Mr. Darling. Practical people don’t always seem to see past the ends of their own noses. They believe in only what the media wants them to see and hear. Men like you have no regard for fantasy or creativity. You’re too absorbed in reality to recognize the magic in life.” 

“Sweetheart, we both know that there is no such thing as magic.”

“Just because you don’t believe in fairy tales doesn’t mean they’re inherently fictional.” 

“What are you trying to say?” George asked. 

Mary smiled at her husband.

“Fiction and reality are often one and the same.”

George was defeated by his wife’s words. He did not argue with her. He knew that he wasn’t always right. He was the man of the house, but Mary was wiser than him. He believed in stocks and bonds. She believed in faith, trust, and fairy dust, but especially fairies. So did her daughters.


End file.
